Lading strap anchor

ABSTRACT

A lading strap anchor is recessed in the side wall post of a railway freight car and has a rotatable band attaching handle member which is movable out of a side wall opening to provide for attachment of strap anchors. Each anchor unit also includes an arcuate guide portion which is useful in directing straping into the attaching handle. A retaining clip may be provided to retain the handle within the side wall recess. Modified version of the invention includes a rubber biasing member which abuts the rotatable handle and provides a restoring force to move the handle into the side wall nest after straping is removed.

United States Patent 1191 McNally et al.

[ LADING STRAP ANCHOR [75] Inventors: George S. McNally, South Holland,

111.; Roger D. Sims, Munster, Ind.

[73] Assignee: Pullman Incorporated, Chicago, 111. [22] Filed: Mar. 30, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 346,502

[111 3,814,029 1 5] June 4,1974

Primary Examiner-M. Henson Wood, Jr. Assistant Examiner-Gene A. Church Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Hilmond O. Vogel [5 7] ABSTRACT A lading strap anchor is recessed in the side wall post of a railway freight car and has a rotatable band attaching handle member which is movable out of a side wall opening to provide for attachment of strap anchors. Each anchor unit also includes an arcuate guide portion which is useful in directing straping into the attaching handle. A retaining clip may be provided to retain the handle within the side wall recess. Modified version of the invention includes a rubber biasing member which abuts the rotatable handle and provides a restoring force to move the handle into the side wall nest after straping is removed.

7 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJ N M4 SHEET 2 [1F 2 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to railway freight vehicles and in particular those vehicles having straping attaching means recessed within their side wall units.

2. Description of the Prior Art Prior art straping receiving band anchors which have provided pivotable handle members which are movable from astored position within the side wall units have not provided biasing or locking means for retaining the strap anchor in a flush position within the side wall unit when not being used to anchor lading within the freight vehicle. The present invention contemplates the use of a retaining latch or a resilient biasing means which engages the lading strap anchor to insure the strap anchor will be retained in its side wall pocket when not in use.

SUMMARY This invention relates to lading strap anchors used in railway freight vehicles and in particular to strap anchors having curved band attaching portions to maintain line contact with lading retaining strap when the straping is in an out of horizontal position which generally results in point contact between the strap anchor and strap causing high localized stress concentrations which frequently result in premature failure of the steel bands. The present invention also contemplates the use of oversize mounting bearing members which provide for a loose fit of the pivotable strap anchor thereby allowing for further non horizontal positioning of the straps without producing highly localized stress concentrations between the strap anchor and the steel banding. The present invention also contemplates the utilization of a strap guide member which is also recessed within the side wall posts and adjacent to the pivotable strap anchor to thereby provide a guide surface for threading the loose ends of steel bands into the lading strap anchor.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a lading strap anchor which is recessed within the side wall unit ofa railway freight vehicle and in particular positioned within the outside side wall post of the freight vehicle.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a pivotable strap anchor having a arm portion with a barrel shaped contour thereby providing for line contact between the attached steel band when the band is in a position other than purely horizontal.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a strap anchor having a bearing pin and bearing opening to allow for partial angular deflection of the strap anchor as the banding moves to an out of horizontal position.

It is another object, of the present invention to provide a lading strap anchor which is recessed in the side wall of a freight vehicle and positioned in the outside side wall posts and includes resilient means for retaining the pivotable strap anchor flush within the side wall unit when not in use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a strap guide means to facilitate threading of the loose end of the lading band into the handle portion of a strap anchor.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from reference to the following description, attached drawings and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a pictorial view of a portion of the railway vehicle incorporating the strap anchor of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the strap anchor in the operative position and tied onto banding for purposes of restraining transported lading;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken generally along line 44 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a frontal view of the present invention in the inoperative position;

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view taken generally along line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a frontal view of a modified version of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 7; and,

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional plan view through the strap anchor illustrated in FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference now to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 1 where there is illustrated a section of the railway vehicle employing the strap anchor of the present invention, it is noticed that the freight car portion is designated by the numeral 10 and the car includes the usual end wall 11 interconnected with side wall sheets 12 which have outside vertically extending wall posts 14. The vehicle includes the usual cargo supporting floor portion 15.

The side wall sheets 12 have a plurality of vertically strap anchors 18 and the lading 2.2 will be firmly held in place.

Now referring more particularly to the specifics of structural elements involved with the strap anchor of the present invention, it is noticed that the strap anchors 18 are positioned within the outside vertical wall posts 14 of the freight vehicle thus utilizing an unused hollow space without diminishing the inside usable vol ume of the freight car 10. Upper and lower mounting plates 24 extend horizontally into the wall posts 14 and form the bearing plates for the swinging strap anchor 18. This arrangement provides for dumping strap forces into the body of the vertical wall posts 14. Each mounting plate 24 includes an enlarged bearing opening 26. A cover strip 28 encloses the open portion of the hat shaped vertical wall post 14 and provides a continuous smooth interior wall sheet for the freight vehicle.

In inserting the strap 20 into the receiving portion of the strap anchor 18 a strap guide 30 is utilized. This clip 32 is attached to the lower mounting plate 24 and includes a strap anchor engaging portion which is used as a stop means for retaining the rotatable strap anchor within the associated opening 16 when the strap anchor 18 is not being used.

As noticed in the drawings, each embodiment of the strap anchor 18 includes a vertically extending hinge portion 33 having bearing pin portions 34 extending through the enlarged openings 20 ofthe mounting plate members 24. Spaced from the vertically extending hinge portion is the attaching arm section 36 which engages a strap 20. This attaching arm 36 includes a rounded or barrel shaped cross section intended to provide line contact between the strap anchor 18 and the attached strap 20 even when the strap 20 is in a nonhorizontal position such as that indicated in the solid line designation of FIG. 4. Also, the enlarged bearing openings 26 are intended to permit a loose fit around the bearing parts of the strap anchor 18 thereby allowing the barrel portion 38 to have a vertical angularity and providing the barrel shaped strap attaching portion 38 with a selfaligning feature between the strap anchor 18 and the associated connecting strap 20.

This self alignment feature also contributes to providing line contact between the rounded portion 38 and a strap 20. By combining the rounded barrel shaped attaching portion 36 with the deflectable or angularity feature provided by the hinge and bearing opening arrantement, it is therefore intended to prevent point contact between the strap 20 and the strap anchors 18 which oftentimes produces excessive stress concentrations causing premature tearing of the lading retaining strap 20.

The handle portions 40 space the barrel portion 38 from the hinge portions 33 thereby multiplying the movement allowed by the bearing clearance. This permits a greater distance of movement of the barrel 38 from a given angular deflection of the hinge portion 33.

In the modified version of the present invention which is illustrated in drawings 7, 8 and 9, a tab portion 42 is extending outwardly of the vertically disposed hinge portion 33 and is engageable with an adjacent vertically extending elastomeric or rubber bias member 44. As illustrated in FIG. 9, when the strap anchor 18 is pivoted outwardly of the solid line position illustrated in FIG. 9, the rubber biasing member will be deflected to the phantom position illustrated in FIG. 9. Thus, in the modified version the retaining clip 32 used in the preferred embodiment has been eliminated and replaced with a retaining and biasing member 44 which insures that the rotatable strap anchor will be returned into the side wall nest and provide a flush car interior wall.

In both embodiments of the present invention the strap anchor unit is comprised of a rotatable strap member 18 having a rounded barrel portion 38 and the vertically extending hinge portion 33 which is so mounted on the freight vehicle that a predetermined vertical angular displacement is permitted and will combine with the rounded barrel portion 38 to insure a collinear relationship between the strap anchor and the attached strap in the event the strap should loosen or not be maintained in a purely horizontal position during car transport. Both embodiments of the present invention also include the arcuate strap guide which is positioned along the entrance side wall of the wall post 14 and is provided to guide the strapping around the back of the strap anchor 18 and into the open portion thereof to thereby permit threading of the strap 20 around and firmly onto the pivotable strap anchor portion 18. n

The present invention has provided a strap anchor for retaining and attaching of lading engaging straps in a manner which is intended to reduce localized stresses and to prevent premature tearing of straps. The vertical angularity which is allowed the strap anchor 18 in combination with the rounded portion 36 of the strap anchor 18 will insure that line contact'between the strap anchor and strap is maintained. The present invention also has provided retaining means for securely holding the strap anchor within the side wall opening and wall post unit to thereby insure that the strap anchor will not protrude into the car interior when not in use.

The foregoing description and drawings merely explain and illustrate the invention and the invention is not limited thereto, except insofar as the appended claims are so limited, as those skilled in the art who have the disclosure before them will be able to make modifications and variations therein without departing from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A lading retaining strap anchor unit for railway freight cars having vertical wall posts and side wall sheet means attached thereto, the improvement comprising:

a rotatable strap anchor mounted within said vertical wall posts and rotatable from an inoperative stored position within the wall posts to an operative position extending outwardly of the side wall sheets;

at least one opening in the side wall sheet means forming a mounting aperture for said strap anchor member;

upper and lower mounting plates forming a strap anchor housing fitted within the side wall posts and having bearing openings to receive said strap anchor;

said strap anchor having a vertically extending hinge portion with bearing pin portions receivable within said bearing openings and sized to provide a clearance between the bearing pin portions and the associated bearing opening;

said strap anchor including a strap attaching handle laterally spaced from said hinge portion and having a barrel shaped contour;

retaining means positioned within the strap anchor housing and having portions engageable with the rotatable strap anchor to thereby maintain the strap anchor in the inoperative stored position.

2. The invention according to claim 1, and:

curved strap guide means attached within the strap anchor housing and having a guide surface means for directing lading retaining straps onto the barrel shaped handle.

3. The invention according to claim 1, and:

said retaining means being a retaining clip mounted adjacent the strap anchor on one of said mounting plates and having a tab portion adapted to abut and retain the strap anchor in the inoperative stored position within said housing.

4. The invention according to claim 1, and:

a strap anchor biasing tab mounted on the vertically extending hinge portion of the strap anchor;

resilient biasing means mounted on said housing adjacent the biasing tab and engageable therewith to urge the strap anchor into the inoperative stored position within said housing.

5. The invention according to claim 1, and:

. said vertical wall posts having a hat shaped cross section and having wall sheet attaching flange portions disposed on each side of said strap anchor housing; 

1. A lading retaining strap anchor unit for railway freight cars having vertical wall posts and side wall sheet means attached thereto, the improvement comprising: a rotatable strap anchor mounted within said vertical wall posts and rotatable from an inoperative stored position within the wall posts to an operative position extending outwardly of the side wall sheets; at least one opening in the side wall sheet means forming a mounting aperture for said strap anchor member; upper and lower mounting plates forming a strap anchor housing fitted within the side wall posts and having bearing openings to receive said strap anchor; said strap anchor having a vertically extending hinge portion with bearing pin portions receivable within said bearing openings and sized to provide a clearance between the bearing pin portions and the associated bearing opening; said strap anchor including a strap attaching handle laterally spaced from said hinge portion and having a barrel shaped contour; retaining means positioned within the strap anchor housing and having portions engageable with the rotatable strap anchor to thereby maintain the strap anchor in the inoperative stored position.
 2. The invention according to claim 1, and: curved strap guide means attached within the strap anchor housing and having a guide surface means for directing lading retaining straps onto the barrel shaped handle.
 3. The invention according to claim 1, and: said retaining means being a retaining clip mounted adjacent the strap anchor on one of said mounting plates and having a tab portion adapted to abut and retain the strap anchor in the inoperative stored position within said housing.
 4. The invention according to claim 1, and: a strap anchor biasing tab mounted on the vertically extending hinge portion of the strap anchor; resilient biasing means mounted on said housing adjacent the biasing tab and engageable therewith to urge the strap anchor into the inoperative stored position within said housing.
 5. The invention according to claim 1, and: said vertical wall posts having a hat shaped cross section and having wall sheet attaching flange portions disposed on each side of said strap anchor housing; a wall post cover plate extending across the wall post and connecting said flange portions and having openings therein.
 6. The invention according to claim 2, and: said strap guide means connecting the upper and the lower mounting plates and having portions attached to the associated vertical wall post.
 7. The invention according to claim 4, and: said resilient biasing means including an elastomer bar member attached to the upper and the lower mounting plates and positioned adjacent the strap anchor biasing tab. 